[Quiet, thoughtful. He doesn't sound offended because he isn't. This whole conversation has gone in a way he didn't expect, but he's starting to think that was his error, his lack of caution. You could always stay, there are plenty of rooms; his wording was muddied, regardless of his intentions. And it's not as though he doesn't know this sort of thing happens. It's one of the reasons, though not the main one, he always kept himself so distant.]
I think I see what I did wrong. My phrasing was poor. I was excited to see you and that you liked the garden, so I wasn't very conscious or careful about it. I'll be more careful in the future.
[That isn't enough, though. Considering the garden before him in a distant way, he thinks about . . . a lot of things. The way the others stared at Trish as though she was an alien when she first showed up. How hard Narancia worked to understand. The way she screamed at Bucciarati on the ground beside the train, furious and frightened. His expression is complicated.]
I don't know if I can explain this correctly. It's easy to say that I don't do that kind of thing, and it doesn't mean very much, because those are just words. Mm, to me, having friends is new and . . . difficult to navigate. I don't think I would have the right to keep trying if I used friendship to manipulate someone like that.
[With a slight frown, he turns to look at her again.]
I don't know that that made sense. Riley, the people who did what you're talking about are assholes who don't deserve to share space or oxygen with you. In a just universe, they would be here and you would be back home. Since that's not the universe we're working with, please understand that I would rather die than pull something like that. It's cowardly.
no subject
[Quiet, thoughtful. He doesn't sound offended because he isn't. This whole conversation has gone in a way he didn't expect, but he's starting to think that was his error, his lack of caution. You could always stay, there are plenty of rooms; his wording was muddied, regardless of his intentions. And it's not as though he doesn't know this sort of thing happens. It's one of the reasons, though not the main one, he always kept himself so distant.]
I think I see what I did wrong. My phrasing was poor. I was excited to see you and that you liked the garden, so I wasn't very conscious or careful about it. I'll be more careful in the future.
[That isn't enough, though. Considering the garden before him in a distant way, he thinks about . . . a lot of things. The way the others stared at Trish as though she was an alien when she first showed up. How hard Narancia worked to understand. The way she screamed at Bucciarati on the ground beside the train, furious and frightened. His expression is complicated.]
I don't know if I can explain this correctly. It's easy to say that I don't do that kind of thing, and it doesn't mean very much, because those are just words. Mm, to me, having friends is new and . . . difficult to navigate. I don't think I would have the right to keep trying if I used friendship to manipulate someone like that.
[With a slight frown, he turns to look at her again.]
I don't know that that made sense. Riley, the people who did what you're talking about are assholes who don't deserve to share space or oxygen with you. In a just universe, they would be here and you would be back home. Since that's not the universe we're working with, please understand that I would rather die than pull something like that. It's cowardly.